Snow Falls at Palisades Village

Meet the Man Behind the Magic: Adam Williams

By SARAH SHMERLING | Editor-in-Chief

Walking around Palisades Village this December, visitors may have noticed something that is never seen in Pacific Palisades: snow.

And with temperatures predicted to remain around 70 degrees through Christmas, it takes some behind-the-scenes magic to make that happen.

Enter Adam Williams, founder of MagicSnow, a fully immersive experiential company that provides outdoor installations of artificial snow.

Williams moved to California after college in 2000 to work at the Magic Castle and pursue his dream of becoming a professional magician.

“I was very ambitious and trying everything I could to find my niche,” Williams explained to the Palisadian-Post. “Eventually I learned that my talents were in the creative and production side of the business, as opposed to the performance side. Even though I am no longer performing, I still consider myself a magician with the work I do with MagicSnow.”

The concept of MagicSnow was created when Williams approached Rick Caruso about adding a magic show for Christmas at The Grove that concluded in a snowfall finale.

Caruso agreed to the snow, minus the magic, and they have been working together since the development opened in 2002.

“They were our first client and are still our best client today,” Williams shared. “Almost everything we have done at MagicSnow comes from the opportunity that we were given by Caruso, and I have always been inspired by the way they do business and the experiences they create for their guests.”

So it was a natural fit for Williams to bring his talents to Palisades Village.

“Each project presents its own unique challenges, and we’re always pushing ourselves to create snow effects that are realistic and impactful,” Williams explained.

Since the company started, the team has developed multiple breakthroughs in snow-making technology. Williams shared that he sees these challenges as new opportunities to learn and develop—with each new challenge making their work better and giving the team a full kit of tools to transform spaces with snow.

“We make magic with snow,” he shared. “We’re the only entertainment company that is dedicated to just making snow.”

Williams explained that MagicSnow has had the opportunity to work with “amazing clients” and create snow in locations “all over the world.”

“The best part of the job is seeing how we’re able to take a space and transform it with snow. It truly is magical,” Williams said. 

A few chances remain to catch the wintery display: Snowfall in the Park, a non-toxic and non-slip show, will take place Dec. 21 through 24 at 7 and 8 p.m.